Retired admiral on “most shocking call” of his life

In our ongoing series Issues That Matter, we’re taking a closer look at the opioid epidemic, which has taken more than half a million lives since the year 2000.

For retired Navy Adm. Sandy Winnefeld, the epidemic is personal. Three days after he and his wife dropped their 19-year-old son, Jonathan, off at the University of Denver in September, Winnefeld received a phone call.

“The worst, most shocking call of my life,” Winnefeld said Wednesday on “CBS This Morning.”

Jonathan died from an overdose from a fentanyl-laced batch of heroin. His son had struggled with addiction for several years, but Winnefeld said he had been on the road to recovery – “bright-eyed, bushy-tailed” – after undergoing 15 months of inpatient treatment programs.

“We thought he was on such an upward trajectory. He was really excited to be at